Posts from 2016
Church Health vs. Church Growth
Healthy churches will grow. Unhealthy churches can grow as well. Healthy bodies will grow taller and stronger. Unhealthy bodies will grow wider around the waste and weaker. Healthy cells multiply and divide. Cancer cells multiply and divide. This is very important to remember in church revitalization. The goal is a healthy church not church growth. The healthy church will grow in time, and the growth will be God glorifying and sustainable. A church may grow like a cancer cell, but…
Church Revitalization
In recent years the emphasis on church planting has been accompanied by a growing emphasis on church renewal. For the last twelve years, I have been part of two different church revitalizations. I am planning on discussing this process at length from start to finish. My prayer is that it will encourage each believer in Christ to help strengthen their local church so that it can be all that God has called it to be. What is meant by church…
The Emergence of Calvinism within the SBC
Quit Blaming John Piper for Calvinism: Why the resurgence of Calvinism in the SBC is the result of Adrian Rogers, Paige Patterson, Jerry Vines, and the other leaders of the Conservative Resurgence It would appear that there is a growing number of young Calvinists within various denominations but particularly the Southern Baptist Convention. This has encouraged some but alarmed others. Numerous voices have come out bemoaning this fact or rejoicing in this fact. I do not think that there is…
Not Making a Decision is Making a Decision
I once asked a man if he would follow the teachings of Jesus Christ. He stared at the ground and did not answer. Eventually his answer came, “I am not going to say, ‘No.’” However, he would never say, “Yes,” nor did he follow Christ’s teachings. I have many similar conversations over the years. People know what God requires of them, yet they will not do it. They keep delaying and putting off what they know they should do. However,…
Day 6 – Pine Ridge Mission Trip
We continued to work on this week’s projects, discovering more issues than we expected and challenges that must be overcome. In passing it will appear not much has been accomplished, but we are all wore out. We still put priority into having time for devotions and prayers twice daily as a team. Even during our labors we spend time to understand the spiritual needs of each other and the Lakota men we are working with. This year we have the…
Day 5 – Pine Ridge Mission Trip
We continued working on the rehabilitation center (staining kitchen cabinets, running internet cables and the roof sheet metal is almost done). In addition we continued work on getting the old trailer dug out so it can be towed away for the new (well it is 40 years old) to replace it. You can see in the picture below of the kids playing and they are getting excited to have a new home arriving soon, possibly tomorrow. Several of us will…
Day 4 – Pine Ridge Mission Trip
Wow! We had a great day. We worked on a wide range of projects today: We worked with two local Lakota ranchers to have their cattle checked and vaccinated by a Veterinarian mission team (Aaron got kicked and Luke got dumped on). We prepared to remove a trailer that will be replaced by the trailer we are living in right now. This included digging out the tongue and wheels. We started installing the steel roof on the rehabilitation center. It…
Day 3 – Pine Ridge Mission Trip
Today was our first day of work. We were blessed to have ten Lakota men working with us throughout the day. Projects included pouring cement, constructing walls, getting a mobile home ready to move, moving a Lakota family from Rapid City back to Pine Ridge, and various other projects. It was great to see old Lakota friends and learn what has been going on in their lives, both good and bad. We have devotions, pray, and sharing our meals with…
Day 2 – Pine Ridge Mission Trip
Today was our day of rest. We tried going to service at a new church, but God had other plans. When we arrived we learned that the pastor’s wife’s father had died suddenly on Thursday, so services were cancelled as they had to go out of town. We decided to have our own service. The local assistant director lead us in song and a brief message. We met a local Lakota woman, Lucy, that shared with us how her faith…
Day 1 – Pine Ridge Mission Trip
We are on the road. We have a total of 15 men and we are all looking forward to what God has planned for us this week. We will not arrive until 10:30 p.m. Central Time. We will be on Mountain Time during the week. Pastor Chris prayed over us this morning and Dan lead us through Communion. We have the Faith van, U-Haul trailer, and two minivans. The trailer is completely full. We had many donations that included: a…
Understanding Grief
I know that dreams are largely a conglomeration of your thoughts and experiences throughout the previous few days, but I also know that the Lord does sometimes speak in dreams. For myself personally, I find that at times I tend to have insights and understanding in my dreams. I do not know if this is just a natural process of the mind detoxing and problem solving of if it is a supernatural process the Lord uses in my life. Whatever…
Straining at a Gnat: Thoughts on Christians and Politics
If I was to choose a verse for my life it would be Matthew 7:24. My aim is to build every facet of my life around Jesus Christ. This includes my views on government, politics, and voting. I have observed countless Christians from all points of the political divide endorse Trump, endorse Clinton, endorse Johnson, endorse writing in a name, and endorse not voting at all. Almost all of these would claim the authority of Scripture and claim to oppose…
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